Up to my neck in debt - do I have any options?

[drbeat]

Hi,

Thanks for allowing me to join the forum and a big "hi" to all from me.

As you read the coming blurb, please don't think that it is my intention to come across as arrogant or that I want my cake and eat too.

I'm currently in debt for around £75k: 3 overdrafts, 8 credit cards and 1 loan. ALL of what I just mentioned initially defaulted around July 2023...that is the period when I ran out of money and was unable to rob Peter to pay Paul.

State of play at this moment in time:

Credit Cards & Loans: daily letters but numerous accounts have been sold to Cabot and Intrum.

Things got "real" last week with a letter before action from Mortimer Clarke with regards to a Halifax overdraft totalling £1037. I've been well aware of the fact that Cabot now own 3 accounts with the other 2 totalling nearly 20k (credit cards). I can only suspect they're starting with the low hanging fruit that was my Halifax OD.

Obviously it's just a matter of time before the same happens with all the other accounts.

I have no sob story or excuses for these debts. I took a gamble on being able to live off credit cards/ loan/ overdraft when my line of work dried up during the pandemic...it worked for a few years but with no income at the crucial moment, the entire house of cards eventually collapsed. From early-2023 I've essentially lived off music gigging, something I got back into after 12 years as it's all I know outside of my line of work + it's cash in hand, and also selling EVERYTHING that I owned - whether on eBay or High Street places like CEX - doing that prevented me from getting taken to court over my energy bill.

Property I live in is owned by my mum and dad - they know nothing about this. Car I own is an £800 2007 Mondeo - good runner too.

Even during 2023 to very recently, I couldn't find anything in my line of work (gigging was keeping me going with regards to daily essentials). I applied for many but applicants were enormous or I just wasn't the "right fit"...which was odd as I used to land every gig first time before the pandemic.

In the last 2 months, and after applying for a job at the B&Q across the road from me, I got a short term work gig on a decent day rate..I've been told that it's unlikely that the gig will go on for longer than 6 months which I knew from the interview. But I have income again albeit in the short term.

My question to you all is that do I have any options with regards to these debts? I may be on a good day rate, but if I agree payment plans etc then there is a good chance I'll default on them later on down the line or struggle if I get work on a lower day rate. I know that ignoring them will result in CCJs and attachment of earnings (I'm PAYE).

Thank you for reading

DrBeat

[echat11]

Hi DRBEAT

Welcome to LB

Can you list the debts, identify (loan, credit card etc) amount (rounded up) and who the debt is with (Cabot, etc), more questions to follow once you've done that.

[drbeat]

Thanks ECHAT11

OK, looking at credit karma:

Bank Accounts:

TSB £1000
Cabot £1000
Santander £200

Credit Cards

TSB £6,100
Intrum £11,200
Amex £700
Intrum £10,500
Cabot £8,500
Cabot £8,000
M&S £3,300
Amex £1,000
Tesco £7,000

Loans

M&S £16,000

[echat11]

Thanks ECHAT11

OK, looking at credit karma:

Bank Accounts:

TSB £1000
Cabot £1000
Santander £200

Credit Cards

TSB £6,100
Intrum £11,200
Amex £700
Intrum £10,500
Cabot £8,500
Cabot £8,000
M&S £3,300
Amex £1,000
Tesco £7,000

Loans

M&S £16,000

O.K., put all the debts on a spreadsheet so you can manage them (not think about them all the time).

The important thing to remember is if any of the creditors took you to Court, then you would only be asked to pay what you could afford to, so if that was £1 each month, so be it.

What you need to do, very carefully, so your not promising to pay more then you could afford to.

Fill in an income and expenditure form, take into the account of 'cost of living', give yourself a 'buffer', just in case things rocket up.

https://nedcab.cabmoney.org.uk/

Once you've done that and for example you are left with £130, you have 13 creditors, you could offer £10 each month to each creditor, but the best way to do it is Pro rata, so M & S get's the most of the £130, as they are owed the most.

Send a copy of the following amended letter with a copy of the I & E to each creditor, make sure you get Proof of Postage.

Remove the first line as it not correct, personalize the letter, personal circumstances etc

https://nationaldebtline.org/get-inf...o-rata-offers/

You need to decide if they should of allowed you all that credit, if there is a case for complaint.

Keep on top of this.

[drbeat]

Thanks for the fantastic advice. I'm gathering all the correspondence as most of the latest letters are talking about payment plans, only the Mortimer Clarke letter is the letter before action. I'll get the spreadsheet sorted with the highest and lowest and work out what I can afford. I want to offer something just to keep all this from going to CCJs...or at least demonstrating that I'm willing to pay if it does go that far, meaning that I have to defend myself in a court situation.

You need to decide if they should of allowed you all that credit, if there is a case for complaint.

I understand what you're saying, but I applied for the cards "during the good times" and then abused them and the loan during the "bad times". It worked for a good while but eventually came to an end - dumb thing to do on my part. Priority now is to prevent court action which could result in them dipping into my salary.

[echat11]

Update when you get responses.

[des8]

If during the "bad times" your card limits were increased you might still have a claim against the issuers for irresponsible lending.
Here's a link to a site run by one of members https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-catalogue-credit-card/

[drbeat]

If during the "bad times" your card limits were increased you might still have a claim against the issuers for irresponsible lending.
Here's a link to a site run by one of members https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-catalogue-credit-card/

Thanks for that. No, none of the limits were increased - they were in fact decreased which is how the house cards started to fall.